Title: The Bloodstone

By: Aina Song

Fandom: Ronin Warriors/Yu Yu Hakusho

Genre: Yaoi

Rating: R

Warning(s): Language; Angst; Blood; Death; Post-NCS

Pairing(s): Rowen/Yusuke; Ryo + Kento; Sage + Cye

Reviews: Yes, please.

Author's Note: Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money. Italics = memory, dream, telepathy, or any other such gibberish. Depending on the situation in which they appear. Also, it is suggested that the reader takes into consideration the author's warnings.

Teaser:"There's a kind of emptiness that can fill you/ There's a type of hunger that can eat you up/ There's a cold and darker side of the moonlight/ And there's a lonely side of love…" - Hanging By a Thread, by Nickel Creek

Chapter Three - Looking For Me?

Just as the sun was beginning to set, Sage knocked gently upon his bedroom door. He did not expect an answer; when he received none, he quietly opened the door and stepped in.

"Hey, Blondie."

Swiftly turning his head, he found the young stranger sitting with his back to the wall upon Rowen's bed, the lower half of his body discreetly hidden under the sheets. He was watching Sage with fierce dark eyes that reminded Sage of some predator patiently awaiting its prey. Then he turned his gaze across the room toward the other bed, and it was as though some spell had been broken. Sage suddenly found he could breathe again.

"I only came to see how you were doing," he whispered, closing the door behind him. "And to check on Rowen."

"Rowen's asleep," the dark youth answered, without breaking his vigil upon the other bed. "He needs the rest more than I do, anyway."

"You can't be serious. Do you realize how convinced we were that you could've died while we were mending you?" When the other did not immediately answer, Sage tried again. "What's your name?"

"Yusuke Urameshi."

"Are you in trouble, Yusuke? Is that why you've been calling for Rowen's help?"

What happened next would tweak at Sage's curiosity for months to come. Yusuke did not look up, nor even seemed to ignore the question. His piercing brown eyes looked suddenly sad, and he appeared to need to steel himself for his own answer. "You don't understand. I wasn't calling to him for help."

"What?"

"I was begging to devil to spare him."

~o~

Cye looked up, his smile fading when he glimpsed the look on Sage's face as he came into the kitchen. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," the sighed, passing a hand through his thick hair. "Could I help you with dinner? I'd appreciate having something else to think about."

A look of sympathy passed across Cye's aquatic green eyes, and the seafaring youth stepped to the side to share the counter island. He slid a handful of small bowls over, "Grind these spices, while I paste the tomatoes into sauce."

Sage took the pestle in his hand, vaguely marveling at how Cye would often feel creative enough to do the simplest dishes from scratch. "Thick, or fine?"

"Finely powdered, please."

"All of it?" He lifted one bowl toward his face, wincing at the smell. "Even the garlic?"

"What?" Cye looked, then laughed at the face Sage was making. "No, put that down! You look about to pass out."

A small smile found its way to Sage's mouth as he set that bowl aside. Pulling another bowl to him, he set to work, pressing and grinding the dried leaves until they were little more than dust. Once, he complained that his arm was growing sore. But Cye only smiled and showed him how to adjust the angle of the pestle, relieving a great deal of pressure from Sage's elbow and shoulder.

When he had done, Cye had already made sauce of the tomatoes and was now chopping a few green and yellow bell peppers. With Cye's permission, Sage took a second knife and started in on a yellow one. Cye watched him a moment, then decided he had waited long enough. "Did something happen?"

Sage's hands paused, but only for an instant. "I was clinging to the hope that you wouldn't ask me that…"

"Well," he returned, not unkindly, "now I'm hoping for an answer."

"Yes," the blond finally sighed. "Something happened, though I'll find it difficult to explain."

Cye patiently set his knife down, offering his full attention. "Try."

"I'd gone upstairs… to check on them…"

"Yes?"

"Yusuke…" Sage looked up, "Yusuke Urameshi, that's his name; he was already awake when I came in."

Cye nodded.

"He wouldn't say much." Sage shrugged, "Only that Rowen needed more rest than he did."

"But he must've said something else," Cye suggested, adding the spices and diced peppers to his sauce. "To have upset you this much."

Sage watched as the culinary genius turned to the stove and ignited two burners; one beneath a pot of water, and the other beneath a skillet of ground sausage. "He did," the blond admitted. "And it does worry me, even while I don't understand it."

Cye nodded, a fraction of his attention now on his meat. "What was it?"

Here, he hesitated. "I wouldn't have believed him. I still don't know whether I should believe him, but… The look on his face when he said it…"

"What did he say?"

"That the reason he'd been calling out to Rowen wasn't for help. Rowen had only been overhearing him beg the devil to spare Rowen's life."

The spatula fell from Cye's hand, and he spun around. "Spare his life?"

Sage nodded.

"But, spare him from what?" He demanded, "What does Yusuke know that we don't?"

"Your meat is burning," the blond softly pointed out.

Muttering, Cye picked up his spatula and dropped it into the sink, cleaning up the few specks of sausage that had fallen to the floor and grabbing another spatula from a hook.

Sage watched him save the ground meat before any real damage could be done to it. "I did try to ask him," he finally confessed. "But he wouldn't answer."

"Because he doesn't trust us?"

After a moment, the blond shook his head. "I don't believe that. He only seemed to be… well, waiting for something."

Now, it so happened that Cye Mouri had a genuinely quick wit when it came to people. He could read a person better than an FBI interrogator. A sudden small smile came to his lips at this point, though he hid it before turning around. "Perhaps he feels that Rowen must be the first to hear it."

Sage grew quiet, as though surprised by his own momentary ignorance. "Of course," he slowly agreed. "The whole time I was up there, Yusuke rarely took his eyes off of him."

"There, you see? I can't guess how he knows Rowen, but this Yusuke must obviously be very protective of him." Cye dumped a good amount of spaghetti noodles into the pot of boiling water. He sprinkled in some salt, and poured a capful of vegetable oil, both to keep the noodles from sticking together. Then he traded the skillet of meat for the smaller pot of his sauce, and he lowered the heat to a simmer.

"Now," he added, carefully draining any grease from the sausage into the trash. "Was there anything else?"

"Yes," Sage suddenly remembered. "Yusuke Urameshi possesses a talisman of power."

"You've seen it?"

"Yes. It's no Jewel of Life, but the Ronin power whispers in the back of my mind whenever I look at it."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Rowen didn't think so." Sage shook his head, "But I can't help wondering its purpose…"

~o~

Rowen's eyes opened, and slowly he realized he was staring up at the wrong half of his bedroom ceiling. A tingling sensation swelled within his chest, arguing that he could use more rest, and even his muscles were sore with want of it.

"Rowen?"

He turned his head. Sitting on the foot of the bed, wearing new jeans and a beige polyester shirt, Yusuke Urameshi was watching him with piercing brown eyes. "Feeling any better?"

He nodded, "You?"

The dark youth offered a slow smirk. "I've felt worse." Then he tilted his head toward the door, "I can smell something from the kitchen. You hungry?"

"I haven't eaten since yesterday," Rowen admitted, sitting up. "But, I don't think my stomach would be up for anything heavy."

"A light snack it is," Yusuke smirked, standing. "Wait here. I'll find you something."

~o~

Yusuke rested his back against the door, tilting his head back with a heavy sigh. Beneath his borrowed shirt, his golden talisman was a burning cold reminder, waiting ominously against the center of his chest. Its power slowly dripped into his veins, but he knew too well that it would not last.

Its promise, after all, was only temporary.

~o~

Sage was greatly surprised to look up and find Yusuke Urameshi standing in the kitchen doorway. Cye turned in the direction he was staring. "Hello. If you're hungry, dinner will be ready in another ten minutes."

The dark youth looked at the brunet for a long minute, and then slowly shook his head. "You're Cye Mouri, aren't you."

"Yes."

Yusuke swore under his breath as he crossed the kitchen. "I must've gone further back than I thought…"

As he stepped around the counter island, Sage noticed that Yusuke's limp had already become much less pronounced. Yusuke brought out a small plastic basket of strawberries from the refrigerator, then filled a glass with cold water and left the kitchen, tossing a vague wink in their direction on his way out.

After he had gone, Sage turned to Cye, who gave him a curious look.

"How did he know my name?"

~o~

Rowen looked up at the sound of someone knocking on his door. "It's open," he answered, expecting Yusuke to have returned.

He had guessed wrong. Instead, Ryo and Kento stood in the doorway, both seeming somewhat surprised to find him awake. "Been knockin' on your door every hour, checkin' on ya," Kento admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

Rowen shrugged, "I feel fine."

But Ryo did not look so convinced. "Is it him? Is that guy you brought back with you doing something to affect your health like this?"

"I was only out for a day, Ryo. I said I'm fine."

"Where is he, anyway?" Asked Kento, seeing that the other bed was empty.

"I'm right here."

They both spun around, staring. Yusuke stood a few paces down the hall, but still within sight enough of the doorway that Rowen could see him. The dark youth tossed Rowen a slight smirk, even while he was glaring at Ryo. "And if I was any sort of threat to him," he added in a low voice, "you wouldn't be alive to warn him of it."

Ironically, it was Kento who seemed persuaded not to argue. He actually muttered an apology, nudging Ryo around Yusuke and down the hall toward the stairs. Yusuke came into the room, calmly elbowing the door shut.

Rowen's blue eyes were wide as he accepted the glass of water. "I think you were serious…"

"I am," the dark youth replied. He sat near Rowen upon the bed and peeled the plastic lid from the basket of strawberries. "I once made a handful of specially armed forces regret they were my enemy."

Rowen had just been about to take a drink of his water, but now he lowered the glass to his knee. "That true?"

Yusuke nodded.

"Then why are you here? Anyone with that much power wouldn't need our help."

The other fell silent, glancing away. Rowen's blood suddenly grew cold, and he set his glass aside before it could slip from his fingers. "Yusuke. Why have you been looking for me?"